Soda Popinski
Soda Popinski (Russian: СоДа Попинский) made his first appearance in the arcade as the 'Champion of the USSR' in the 1984 game Super Punch-Out!!; although back then he was formally known under the less family-friendly name of Vodka Drunkenski (Russian: Водка Дрункенский). As his name suggests, he is always drinking soda (or in the case of "Super Punch-Out!!", alcoholic beverages). In between bouts of incessant laughter, the theme music played for Soda Popinski is a quote from "The Volga Boatmen's Song", a Russian folk song. Vodka/Soda has also become a very popular character on the internet and is featured on I-Mockery, where he has an article about boiling spaghetti in vodka and topping it with chocolate syrup. Apperances ''Super Punch-Out!!'' (1985) Vodka Drunkenski first appeared in Super Punch-Out!! as the third opponent. He fought very similiar to Super Macho Man except that he was quicker but weaker and could use his 'drunken punch'. He's a lot tougher than the two previous opponents and has really high defense. He'll use a lot of attacks which are hard to avoid and that makes him one of the hardest opponents in the game. He winks when he knocks the player out. ''Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream'' (1987–1990) In Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, He was re-christened 'Soda Popinski' to avoid feeding the stereotype that Russians are all drunks and to keep the game "family-friendly", and showed up on the 1987 Nintendo Entertainment System game Punch-Out!!, as the #4 ranked competitor in the World Circuit. Interestingly, despite having his named changed, some of his quotes suggest that he in fact has been drinking alcohol. He is known for his infamous laugh, which was also used in the Game Over sequence in Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link. The laugh is also used by Bald Bull and Mr. Sandman. He can be beaten with basic 'stick and move' tactics, but with his hard hits and great defense, he can be quite a challenge for newer competitors. Popinski throws massive uppercuts, quick hooks, the trotting triple jab and his sporadic jab, which has no warning before it is unleashed. ''Punch-Out!!'' (2009) He has been confirmed to be in Punch-Out!! (Wii) in the #2 of World Circuit. A chance for you to get a Star Punch from him is where he takes out a soda to try and drink it. If you knock it away, it earns a Star Punch. However, it also results in him using his uppercut combo shortly afterwards, as well. When hit by a Star Punch that doesn't send him to the mat, he goes into a rage and uses his uppercut combo. If he's knocked out he will regain health by drinking a drop of the soda pop he carries, so he can never be defeated by KO (However, there are times where he ends up drinking the soda pop completely dry and passes out afterwards, which results in a KO). After getting up from a KO punch, he will go straight into a combo punch. After 2 KOs, he changes his jab to a delayed jab (identified by when he moves left). In his bio, he is shown to have some remnants of Soviet uniforms and to be constantly drinking soda while training. He speaks legitimate Russian in the game. There are three ways to get a star from Soda Popinski: *Punch the soda bottle from the hand that's holding it. *Use a right jab when he uses his left jab *Let him drink and as he centers himself, hit his gut. The timing is hard but can be used as an instant KO trick, just like the delayed jab. *In title defense after dodging his first punch, hit his gut for a star instead of a two hit combo. After getting the above star for countering his jab, use a delayed jab afterwards and then a Star Uppercut to send him to the mat in a hurry for an instant knockdown. Good luck getting him to use that jab again though, since he usually only uses it when you get up from a knockdown. Title Defense mode Soda Popinski returns in Title Defense Mode to defeat Mac and get the champion's belt. His appearance changes very little as the only difference is that his gloves and pants have turned purple. He has a completely new attack scheme and some new punches. He's also much stronger and faster than in the previous fight.He is the only character in the game that have an effective use of the between-rounds taunts. He drinks soda, which makes him regain his stamina. He also gains more stamina the longer the player watches the taunt. According to his Title Defense video, scientists helped him create a formula in his soda to make him stronger. The soda he drinks also increases his speed and power, but makes him more vulnerable with every consecutive miss. Exhibition challenges Challenger: # Stop Soda Pop from drinking EVERY time he holds out his bottle! # Go a full round without losing a Heart! # TKO Soda Pop with at least 1:11 remaining in Round 1. Title defense: # Land 15 punches in a stun. # Crush this Soda Pop... win the fight in Round 1! # Let Soda Pop drink as much as he wants and still win the fight! Quotes Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream (NES): * "After you lose, we'll drink to your health! Ha, ha, ha!" * "I can't drive, so I'm gonna walk all over you!" * "I drink to prepare for a fight. Tonight I am very prepared!" * "I'm gonna make you feel punch drunk!" * "Would you like some punch to drink? Ha, ha, ha!" Punch-Out!! (Wii): * "Я Сода Попинский, я задавлю тебя!" ("Ia Soda Popinski! Ia zadavliu tebia!") meaning "I am Soda Popinski! I will crush you!" *(Taking out bottle) "За моё здоровье!" ("Za moë zdorovie!") meaning "Cheers to my health!" or "For my health!" *(If you knock the bottle out of his hand) "Моя бутылка!" ("Moia butylka!") meaning "My bottle!" ' Trivia *Soda Popinski is the tallest character with a confirmed height. *He and Super Macho Man both have similar body types and boxing outfits. *Soda Pop is know to laugh at his opponents more commonly and is less likely to speak. *It was at one point believed that Soda Popinski would be removed from the Wii version of Punch-Out due to an interview with "Next Level" saying that they would end up removing one of the characters due to said character's "inability to dissuade controversial material" (referring to how Soda Popinski, despite the name change, still had connotations of being the "drunk Russian" stereotype). Category:Characters Category:Punch-Out!! console characters Category:Punch-Out!! featuring Mr. Dream characters Category:Super Punch-Out!! arcade characters